Figured I could create a thread dedicated to discussion of the bus side of DART (seeing as how we already have several DART threads going under the "Rail" category).

Recently it was announced that there was some shuffling going on among DART members. I believe the short version is that they want to focus more on the city rather than the suburbs (at least that is how I interpreted it):https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2 ... art-board/

It would be great to see more emphasis placed on the bus system if they truly want to improve service in the city. I have no idea how this can be accomplished, but the general consensus seems to be that it can be done, we just need to put effort into it. Another issue is the negative stigma associated with public transportation (specifically buses), but I think DART could try and emphasize the 'green' aspect of riding the bus to try and sell it. It would still be a hard sell, but making people feel environmentally friendly for riding the bus might be a better way to coerce them onto buses.

Anyway, I didn't have any specific news to discuss, I just thought this could be general bus discussion.

Houston's bus overhaul, planned for years but rolled out literally overnight in 2015, has led to an increase in bus ridership, bucking state and national trends. Many are taking notice.

BY BRANDON FORMBY DEC. 8, 2016

... Houstonians who rely on the regional transit agency more frequently since it dramatically retooled its bus routes and stops last year. That massive overhaul decreased the amount of wait times between buses and simplified route geography so maps were easier to understand and read.

...urban planning experts say system improvements can actually have broader, more dramatic impacts on residents’ quality of life, job access and living costs. They say better public transportation, especially in car-centric urban areas like those in Texas, can also help people pull themselves out of poverty.

“It should go beyond functionality and mobility concerns,” said Shima Hamidi, director of the University of Texas at Arlington’s Institute of Urban Studies. “It should be planned as enablers.”

Dallas has among the highest levels of extreme poverty in the country. More than half of households earn less than $50,000, their median incomes are falling and more than 80 percent of jobs can’t be reached by public transportation in less than 90 minutes, according to a presentation given to the council’s housing committee this week.

There's a lot of work to be done, but the changes in Houston are a very welcomed blueprint to learn from.

As long as DART gets down to the bedrock and creates a system that helps poor people get ahead, then everything else will fall into place.

It's so easy to get lost in a mission like that, but it's no use running if you're on the wrong road. The Largest Light Rail System is stupid when targeting those who would use is as for novelty travel.

I'm sure a major overhaul would be expensive, but a minor overhaul should be done in the near term. There are tons of locations where there is no business but a bus stop every 400 feet, and there are other locations somehow with tons of business and traffic but the bus stop is way off on a sidestreet. Its obvious the system wasn't designed for riders, so some minor rationalization of bus stops without even changing routes could be done.

They could also partner with Dallas and the suburbs to make sure bus stops are near sidewalks or other pedestrian infrastructure.

The Dallas City Council voted unanimously last fall to make overhauling the bus system a top priority. That decision was cited in a recent effort to replace several of the city’s DART board representatives.

“If we start heading more toward a gridded system, there is an opportunity for more intuition to be built in the network,” he said.DART officials say they’re working to speed up their long-term plans.In August, DART will begin tinkering with bus routes that currently have poor on-time performance, mostly during the middle part of the day. Those changes will focus on off-peak times for now because the agency is awaiting the delivery of about 41 new buses.

Tivo_Kenevil wrote:Dallas needs to look at Seattle. They prioritize buses and get people where they need to go on time via buses. Take note Dart.

How many bus systems does Seattle have?Two! Two public transportation agencies serve Seattle: King County Metro, which operates local and commuter buses within King County, and Sound Transit, which operates commuter rail, light rail, and regional express buses within the greater Puget Sound region.

DART has more similarities with Sound Transit than it does with King County Metro. Of course King County Metro concentrates on providing great bus services, because that's all it does!

Maybe DART should change? Have FWTA, DCTA, TRE, and DART should run th e buses, with the NCTCOG creating a new separate regional transit system to run the commuter and light rail trains. To do that, state law would have to be changed to allow one. DART would probably have to give up some of its sales tax revenues to allow some of what it has now fund a regional transit system to run the trains. Not only will the tax revenues have to be split, so will all their debts. I have no idea how that can be settled upon legally in any court.........And if you don't think desenters will not take that issue to court, I have a bridge in New York to sell to you.

DART Demos New Proterra Zero-Emission, All-Electric BusesThe seven zero-emission all-electric buses are partially funded by a $7.6 million from the Federal Transit Administration’s Low or No Emission Vehicle Deployment Program (LoNo Program). The grant also helps fund the infrastructure to charge and maintain them.

DART plans to use the electric buses on D-Link, a downtown circulator route currently subsidized by the city of Dallas and Downtown Dallas, Inc. This smaller Proterra vehicle will be easier to navigate through busy city streets and reduce noise pollution downtown. The electric battery technology is similar to what is used on the Dallas Streetcar.

When I made this DART bus topic, I mentioned they should focus on the 'green' aspect of riding the bus. Looks like that's exactly what they are doing here, and taking it one step further. I love this idea, and I hope it's a hit for them. I think it's great they are starting with the D-Link, which, I believe, is a good way to 'convert' people to bus riders.

* Two long-time route numbers are going away: #1 and #400. The #1 will split into the #81 (Matilda route) and #82 (Skillman route). (Note: this only leaves the #2 route (between downtown and Culver, east of Fair Park) as the sole remaining single-digit bus route in DART's system.) Meanwhile, the #400 will split in two, the #402 and #403. The replacement routes will overlap each other between downtown Carrollton station and the Spring Valley station. The #402 routing will be between downtown Carrollton station and downtown Garland station, while the #403 routing will be from Irving Convention Center station to Spring Valley station.

* Two routes are going away due to low ridership, #723 (Bishop Arts area) and #987 ('Rapid Ride'/express route). Other nearby bus routes will take up the slack in the #723 area, while the #486 and #488 already run along the route which the #987 used. (The #987 ran during morning and evening rush hours, stopping at only a few of the stops already served by the #486 and #488.)

* Two other routes, #346 (circulator route in Plano's Legacy area) and #842 ("Flex" route that connected the Buckner station to areas between LBJ and the Dallas-Seagoville line), will be replaced with "GoLink", a new companion service to DART's "On-Call" program.

* The #24 route's two paths are splitting into 2 different routes. The route that includes McMillan will continue as #24, while the other, which includes Capitol, will be lengthened and given the #84 numbering (the second use of that route number BTW). The route will additionally go north from Mockingbird station, along Greenville, then serve Richland College, turn around, and go back. There will be a stop along Greenville each way at the Park Lane station.

* The #582 will now run between Walnut Hill station and LBJ/Central station, passing the north side of Vickery Meadow, along Abrams, and serve Richland College.

* A new route, #585, will run between the Forest Lane station and the Arapaho Center station. This route will serve Hamilton Park (which lost regular DART service previously for a time), the LBJ/Central station, as well as Walnut, Audelia, and Grove streets.

DART Demos New Proterra Zero-Emission, All-Electric BusesThe seven zero-emission all-electric buses are partially funded by a $7.6 million from the Federal Transit Administration’s Low or No Emission Vehicle Deployment Program (LoNo Program). The grant also helps fund the infrastructure to charge and maintain them.

DART plans to use the electric buses on D-Link, a downtown circulator route currently subsidized by the city of Dallas and Downtown Dallas, Inc. This smaller Proterra vehicle will be easier to navigate through busy city streets and reduce noise pollution downtown. The electric battery technology is similar to what is used on the Dallas Streetcar.

When I made this DART bus topic, I mentioned they should focus on the 'green' aspect of riding the bus. Looks like that's exactly what they are doing here, and taking it one step further. I love this idea, and I hope it's a hit for them. I think it's great they are starting with the D-Link, which, I believe, is a good way to 'convert' people to bus riders.

I spoke to a D-Link driver today about the electric buses. He said they are still training drivers and should start appearing on the D-Link route in early July.